increase font size
North Canterbury farmer Adam Williamson will join DairyNZ board as an associate director.
North Canterbury farmer Adam Williamson has been appointed DairyNZ's associate director for 2026-27.
The one-year role supports levy-paying farmers who are actively involved in the sector by providing leadership development, hands-on experience, and mentorship from the eight current DairyNZ board members, helping build pathways into future governance roles.
Williamson, who will begin the role on 1 June 2026, farms in the Culverden area and is known for his roles with Synlait (farmer leadership team) and Amuri Irrigation Company.
DairyNZ's associate director selection panel chair and board member Richard McIntyre says Williamson has everything the selection panel was looking for.
"He is a farmer who has been investing time into the community and investing his own funds into professional development. He feels at the right stage of family and business development to test the waters with a national role; the panel agrees."
Williamson says he is delighted to have been chosen for the role.
"I applied because I am committed to the dairy industry and want to be able to contribute to its future direction. I'm looking forward to joining the board in the exciting times of levy renewal."
Incumbent associate director, Northland farmer Greg Collins, has been heavily involved in all discussions about the recent Milksolids Levy vote and says the experience working with the DairyNZ board has been insightful.
"I encourage everybody interested in the dairy industry and governance to keep their eyes open for the opportunity to be considered for the role in 2027," he says.
McIntyre says Collins has taken every opportunity given to him during his time in the role.
"He came to the board with experience through the Fonterra Cooperative Council and Northland Dairy Development Trust and has proven his worth. We are sade to see him go but suspect that his future is bright in governance; he is an asset to the dairy industry," he says.
The changeover will occur next month, when both the current and future associate directors attend DairyNZ's May board meeting.
"This is an important part of education. The 'how far I've come' moment embeds the positives for the current associate and inspires the new person," says McIntyre.
McIntyre previously held the associate director role in 2020 and knows how much the experience can assist.
"The role is what you make of it. Put in the time and the benefits follow."
DairyNZ says Waikato farmers need certainty on Plan Change 1, but they say that certainty must be matched with practical, workable rules and a clear transition that doesn't get ahead of the new resource management system currently under review.
OPINION: The dairy sector has been told that it cannot afford to rest on its laurels.
The dairy industry cannot rest on its laurels despite providing one in every four export dollars earned by the country, says DairyNZ chief executive Campbell Parker.
Increased competition for water means the whole community is looking at how irrigators use water.
Analysis of decades of research has revealed the implementation of good farming practices plays a critical role in reducing nutrient losses to improve freshwater outcomes.
New Zealand dairy farmers are set to be the first in the world to receive access to a new digital physical milk pricing tool that enables them to fix the price for their physical milk.
State farmer Pāmu is opening its farm gates this summer in an effort to give the rural sector the opportunity to see how large-scale, multi-system farming is delivering productivity and profitability across New Zealand.
A five-year study has found that the cost of reducing emissions without technology may be significant and unsustainable for Northland dairy farmers.
DairyNZ says Waikato farmers need certainty on Plan Change 1, but they say that certainty must be matched with practical, workable rules and a clear transition that doesn't get ahead of the new resource management system currently under review.
While the Government has moved quickly to make commercial hauliers' lot easier during the current fuel crisis, they appear to be stuck in the creep box when it comes to the agricultural industry.
Waikato farmers have been told that the Government’s new planning system legislation and the region’s Plan Change 1 (PC1) “won’t mesh together very well”.
OPINION: No one messes around with Winston Peters, more so in a general election year.
OPINION: Staying on Federated Farmers, this week's annual general meeting in Auckland is shaping up to be an interesting one.
